The increasing cost of operating the jail is beginning to have an impact on Chatham County’s ability to fund other projects.
The issue of spending constraints placed on the county by the expansion project was raised multiple times by County Manager Russ Abolt during Friday’s meeting in response to separate funding requests.
Typically, the county is able to identify savings that can be used for capital improvement projects in the fall after the audit for the past budget year is completed, Abolt said.
But any savings this year will be needed to cover the estimated $1.6 million cost of an additional 25 positions at the expanded jail in January, he said.
Abolt’s comments came after Commissioner Helen Stone had recommended outfitting public works trucks with tracking systems to prevent duplication of services.
“It would save us money in the long run from having trucks going down the same route without knowing a prior truck has gone down it,” Stone said.
Later during the meeting, a resident pressed the county to address the eroding condition of the McQueen’s Island Rails to Trails path — a six-mile trail near Fort Pulaski that is popular with runners and bicyclists.
“Over my 15 years of going to this trail I’ve never seen it this badly deteriorated,” said Michelle Walker-Daniels.
Both projects were seen as worthwhile endeavors by staff but were trumped by needs at the jail.
“The will is there,” Abolt said. “It’s a question, in the interim, of funds.”
The $71 million jail expansion is the county’s most expensive construction project — a fact often bemoaned by commissioners and residents who would rather see funds devoted to educational programs that could keep residents out of the facility.
The contractor on the project, a partnership between Hunt Construction Group and WG Mills, and representatives from Savannah Technical College reported during Friday’s meeting that they are making headway in that direction.
The two have teamed up to teach local residents skills, such as masonry and welding, that are needed for the job. One of the challenges Hunt-Mills has had in meeting its local worker participation pledge of 76 percent — the rate was 58 percent in April — has been the lack of qualified applicants.
The partnership has already resulted in subcontractors hiring local Savannah Tech students, said Michael Savidakis, Hunt-Mills construction manager.
“These individuals are learning that trade and are a part of that trade,” he said.